Putin gives awards to two American generals
Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded the Russian Order of Friendship to two American generals "for their great contribution to the development of cooperation in the field of cosmonautics." A corresponding decree has been published on Russia’s official Internet portal for legal information.
The Russian Order of Friendship was awarded to retired American Infantry Major-General Charles Frank Bolden, who participated in four space flights, totaling a duration of 28 days, between 1986 and 1994. Bolden piloted the Columbia, Discovery, and Atlantis space shuttles. Bolden also served as the Commander of the 1994 Discovery shuttle, whose crew was the first to include a Russian cosmonaut, Sergei Krikalev. Most recently, Bolden served as the head of NASA from 2009 to 2017.
Lieutenant General Thomas Patton Stafford was also awarded the title of Knight of the Russian Order of Friendship. He served as Commander of the Apollo 10 spacecraft in 1969; in 1975, he commanded another Apollo mission, which landed in earth orbit the Soviet Union-19 shuttle. In 2011, Stafford was awarded the Russian medal "For Merit in Space Exploration” for Foreign Citizens.
According to RBC news agency, Stafford adopted two boys from Russia in the early 2000s. His grandson bears the name Alexei in honor of the Soviet cosmonaut.